1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a peptide with an effective function and, more particularly, to a synthetic peptide, derived from BMP-7 (bone morphogenetic protein-7) and consisting of 15 amino acids, and a pharmaceutical composition and a medium composition comprising the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Osteoporosis is a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture because the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone micro architecture is disrupted and the medullary cavity is enlarged.
The bone mass, accounting for the state of health of the bone, is dependent on various factors, such as heredity, nutrition, hormonal changes, exercise, life style, etc. Particularly, aging, shortage of exercise, low body weight, smoking, a low-calcium diet, menopause, or ovary resection are known to be causes of osteoporosis.
Because of the lower bone resorption level thereof, black people are generally higher in bone mass than are white people although there are differences between individuals. On the whole, the bone mass peaks at fourteen to eighteen years of age, and decreases by 1% per year in old age. Particularly, women over 30 years old continuously decrease in bone mass. Hormonal change at menopause causes the bone mass to rapidly decrease. In detail, women in menopause experience a rapid decrease of estrogen, which allows the production of an increased level of B-lymphocytes and the accumulation of pre-B cells in the bone marrow, causing an increase in IL-6 level. IL-6 acts to activate osteoclasts, thus decreasing the bone marrow.
Osteoporosis, as described above, inevitably accompanies senescence, especially post-menopausal women. Entering senescent societies, advanced countries have increasingly paid attention to osteoporosis and therapy therefor.
In addition to osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and bone defective disease are representative bone diseases. Osteoarthritis is known as degenerative arthritis entailing local degradation of joints including articular cartilage and the subchondral bone next to it. Osteoarthritis has two typical causes: when an excessive load is imposed to the joint although articular cartilage or the subchondral bone is normal; and when articular cartilage or the subchondral bone is weak, and even though a proper load is imposed to the joint.
Bone defects may be found in many sites of the body. Its main causes include acute trauma with the accompaniment of ossein loss, a tissue resection operation accompanied by bone loss, chronic inflammation with the accompaniment of bone resection, and chronic nonunion with the accompaniment of the segmental bone defects.
As concerns the medicine for bone diseases, the world market therefor amounts to about one hundred thirty billion dollars and is expected to gradually expand. Thus, leading research institutes and pharmaceutical companies have invested a lot of money in developing therapeutics for bone diseases.
For example, currently used therapeutics for osteoporosis include estrogen, androgenic anabolic steroids, calcium agents, phosphates, fluorine agents, Ipriflavone, and vitamin D3. Additional examples include aminobisphosphonate, developed by Merck in 1995, and raloxifene, acting as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), developed by Lilly Co. in 1997.
Acting as a negative regulator of bone resorption, estrogen is now most widely used as a therapeutic for osteoporosis, but the habitual use thereof may increase the incidence of endometrial cancer and breast cancer and cause thrombosis, gallstones, hypertension, edema, and mastodynia. A group of studies shows that menopausal women co-administered with estrogen and progesterone are highly apt to suffer from breast cancer, stroke, and pulmonary embolism.
Turning to other therapeutics for osteoporosis, there are bisphosophonate agents (alendronate, etidronate), vitamin D agents, calcitonin agents, and calcium agents. However, bisphosphonate agents cause esophagitis in addition to being low in adsorptivity and difficult to take.
Vitamin D agents are expensive and have pharmaceutical effects which are still unknown. Calcitonin agents are expensive and difficult to take. Calcium agents, although with low side effects, are preventive of rather than therapeutic for osteoporosis.
Further, osteoporosis cannot be cured in the short term, but requires long-term administration of drugs. Accordingly, there is a need for a novel material which shows none of the above-mentioned side effects and is therapeutically effective enough to replace conventional drugs.
Furthermore, the prophylaxis and treatment of osteoporosis still remains to be improved. Particularly, the secondary osteoporosis resulting from drug abuse becomes aggravated.
Such situations are true of osteoarthritis and bone defects.